Allentown, Pa. (January 25, 2012)—Cedar Crest College will host a free public performance of an original play that focuses on the dangers of cyberbulling. About Face will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. in the 1867 Room, Tompkins College Center, and then be performed for students at several area middle schools as part of the About Face Bully Tour (see below for complete list of schools).

Cyberbullying has become a major issue with the increasing popularity of social media sites, as well as some highly publicized incidents in which victims have suffered severe emotional and physical consequences.

Written by Cedar Crest Art Professor Roxanne Amico of Allentown and starring Cedar Crest students, About Face features several middle school girls who are involved in a cyberbullying incident. Amico wrote the play after finding precious few scripts that addressed the topic. While About Face is fictitious, aspects mirror current and recent events that have made national headlines.

“Part of Cedar Crest College’s mission is service to the community, and this is a great opportunity to reach out to the community and help schools address a difficult topic. We are very much looking forward to bringing About Face into our local schools,” said Amico, who noted that the play has plenty of humor to appeal to middle school students, despite the seriousness of the message. In the end, lessons are learned.

Cedar Crest junior Brenna Mateljan, a communication and dance major, will be playing the role of one of the central characters, Maggie, a good student who is less than pleased that her friends are engaged in cyberbullying another student. Still, she goes along with the plan because she doesn’t want to alienate her peers.

Mateljan will also serve as emcee of the program, leading important discussions on cyberbullying in the schools where the play is presented.

“I feel very honored to be part of such an important program. I am also very excited to be part of educating the younger generations about cyberbullying since it has become such an issue in our world today,” said Mateljan. “Having both a younger brother and sister growing up in this digital age, topics such as cyberbullying have become very important to me.”

Cedar Crest’s performing arts department has done school tours many times, mostly to complement elementary school curriculums. Covered topics have included the environment, cultural diversity, racial diversity, family and career choices.

For information on the About Face performance at Cedar Crest College call 610-606-4608.